Nominations Announced For 48th Annual ACM Awards

Nominations were announced for the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards--a star-studded event honoring country music’s best and introducing the industry’s hottest emerging talent. Produced for television by dick clark productions, the ACM Awards will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7th, 2013 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

As nominations were announced via the ACM social media channels, The Band Perry continued the interaction as they took over the Music On Facebook page at www.facebook.com/musicians. Over a million Music On Facebook fans, as well as any visitors to the page, were able to watch The Band Perry simultaneously update as the Academy of Country Music posted the nominations.

As previously announced, Blake Shelton will join forces with Luke Bryan to host the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. This year’s show will mark reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Shelton’s third consecutive turn hosting the Awards and Bryan’s first time hosting a LIVE televised event.

For the sixth year, fans will help select the winner of the Academy’s most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year, and for the fifth year, the New Artist of the Year category will also be opened up to fan voting. Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer and Florida Georgia Line are the nominees for this year’s ACM New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s Department Stores. In the first round of fan voting at GACtv.com, fans named Gilbert, Kramer and Florida Georgia Line for ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year, ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year and ACM New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year, respectively. The winners of those categories go on to compete for overall ACM New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl's. The winners of Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year will be announced live during the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

Eric Church leads with seven nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year and his second consecutive nod for Album of the Year and Video of the Year. He is twice nominated for Song of the Year for “Springsteen,” as both artist and composer. Church also earned nominations for Single of the Year for “Springsteen” and for Vocal Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

Hunter Hayes received six nominations, including New Male Vocalist of the Year and Video of the Year for “Wanted.” He is also twice nominated in the Song of the Year category as the artist and composer, as well as in the Single Record of the Year category as the artist and producer for “Wanted.”

Miranda Lambert earned five nominations, including her second nomination for Entertainer of the Year and seventh consecutive nod for Female Vocalist of the Year. In addition, Lambert was nominated for Single Record of the Year and twice nominated for Song of the Year, as artist and composer, for “Over You.” Lambert is the reigning ACM Female Vocalist of the Year.

Reigning Entertainer of the Year, Taylor Swift received five nominations, including her fourth consecutive nod for Entertainer of the Year. If Swift wins Entertainer of the Year, this will be her third consecutive win in that category. Swift is nominated for the sixth time for Female Vocalist of the Year and for the fourth time for Video of the Year for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” She also received a double nomination for Album of the Year for Red as the artist and producer.

Luke Bryan received four nominations, including his first ever Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year nominations. He also received nominations for Album of the Year for tailgates & tanlines and Vocal Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Jason Aldean and Eric Church.

First-time ACM nominee, Kacey Musgraves is nominated for four awards including Female Vocalist of the Year, New Female Vocalist of the Year and twice for Video of the Year for “Merry Go ‘Round” as both artist and producer.

Little Big Town leads group nominations with four nods, including their seventh nomination for Vocal Group of the Year. They are also nominated for Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year for “Pontoon” and Video of the Year for “Tornado.”

Jason Aldean is nominated for three awards, including his third consecutive nod for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. He is nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

Reigning Male Vocalist of the Year, Blake Shelton is nominated for three awards, including his third consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year and second nod for Entertainer of the Year. Shelton also received a nomination for Song of the Year as composer for “Over You” with Miranda Lambert.

Eli Young Band earned three nominations, including their second consecutive nomination for Vocal Group of the Year. They also received nominations for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in the Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories.

Florida Georgia Line received nominations for three awards, including Vocal Duo of the Year, New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year and New Artist of the Year. This is Florida Georgia Line’s first year to be nominated.

The Academy of Country Music’s professional membership selects the nominees and winners of the Academy of Country Music Awards, and selects the final top five nominees of the Entertainer of the Year category. New Artist of the Year final nominees were selected by a combined vote of the fans and professional members. Presenters and performers who will appear at the ceremony will be announced at a later date.

Fan voting for New Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year begins on March 25, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET/12noon PT at VoteACM.com. Fan voting for New Artist of the Year will close at 8:00PM ET/ 5:00PM PT on April 7, 2013 (before the LIVE show starts) and fan voting for Entertainer of the Year will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.

Following is the list of final nominees. Winners in each of the categories, except where noted, will be presented with an Academy of Country Music Award during the live television broadcast:

Entertainer of the Year

· Jason Aldean

· Luke Bryan

· Miranda Lambert

· Blake Shelton

· Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist of the year

· Jason Aldean

· Luke Bryan

· Eric Church

· Toby Keith

· Blake Shelton

Female Vocalist of the year

· Miranda Lambert

· Martina McBride

· Kacey Musgraves

· Taylor Swift

· Carrie Underwood

Vocal Duo of the year

· Big & Rich

· Florida Georgia Line

· Love and Theft

· Sugarland

· Thompson Square

Vocal Group OF THE YEAR

· The Band Perry

· Eli Young Band

· Lady Antebellum

· Little Big Town

· Zac Brown Band

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Lee Brice

· Brantley Gilbert

· Hunter Hayes

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Jana Kramer

· Kacey Musgraves

· Sunny Sweeney

NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

· Florida Georgia Line

· Love and Theft

· Thompson Square

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY KOHL’S DEPARTMENT STORES [Winners of New Male, New Female & New Vocal Duo or Group Of The Year]

· The Only Way I Know – Jason Aldean With Luke Bryan & Eric Church (Broken Bow)

Produced by: Michael Knox

OFF CAMERA AWARDS – The following off-camera awards will be presented during the annual ACM Honors event held in Nashville this fall.

INDUSTRY AWARDS:

CASINO OF THE YEAR

· Agua Caliente Casino - Rancho Mirage, CA

· Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Tulsa, OK

· Northern Quest Casino - Airway Heights, WA

· Red Rock Casino & Resort - Las Vegas, NV

· WinStar World Casino - Thackerville, OK

NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR

Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace - Bakersfield, CA

Joe's Bar - Chicago, IL

The Dusty Armadillo - Rootstown, OH

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill - Denver, CO

Wild Bills - Duluth, GA

VENUE OF THE YEAR

Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH

BOK Center - Tulsa, OK

Klipsch Music Center - Noblesville, IN

Meadowbrook - Gilford, NH

Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR

Billy Brill - Billy Alan Productions

Jerry Hufford - Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace

Gary Osier - Gary Osier Presents

Pat Powelson - Jayson Promotions, Inc.

Fran Romeo - Romeo Entertainment Group

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

Brad Garrett - Police Productions

Darin Lashinsky - NS2

Debra Rathwell - AEG Live

Glenn Smith - Glenn Smith Presents

Ed Warm - Joe's Bar

MUSICIAN/BANDLEADER/INSTRUMENTALIST (MBI) AWARDS:

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

· Brett Beavers

· Buddy Cannon

· Dann Huff

· Jay Joyce

· Michael Knox

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

· Chuck Ainlay

· Derek Bason

· Mills Logan

· Steve Marcantonio

· F. Reid Shippen

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

· Dennis Crouch

· Kevin "Swine" Grantt

· Larry Paxton

· Jimmie Lee Sloas

· Glenn Worf

PERCUSSIONIST/DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

· Eddie Bayers

· Matt Chamberlain

· Chad Cromwell

· Chris McHugh

· Greg Morrow

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

· Glen Duncan

· Larry Franklin

· Aubrey Haynie

· Hank Singer

· Joe Spivey

GUITARIST OF THE YEAR

· Tom Bukovac

· J.T. Corenflos

· Jay Joyce

· Rob McNelley

· Brent Mason

PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

· John Jarvis

· Charlie Judge

· Gordon Mote

· Steve Nathan

· Michael Rojas

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR

· Eric Darken

· Glen Duncan

· Jim Hoke

· Bryan Sutton

· Ilya Toshinsky

STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

· Dan Dugmore

· Mike Johnson

· Greg Leisz

· Russ Pahl

· Scotty Sanders

RADIO AWARDS – The following radio awards will be presented during the annual Radio Winners event held the day prior to the ACM Awards telecast, on April 6th in Las Vegas.

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – NATIONAL

Blair Garner After MidNite with Blair Garner

Cody Alan CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan

Kix Brooks American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks

Shawn Parr The Country’s Hotlist with Shawn Parr

Whitney Allen The Big Time with Whitney Allen

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET

Cornbread, Judi Diamond & Cap’n Mac WIL-FM St. Louis, MO

Dr. Don Carpenter, Rachel, Grunwald & WYCD-FM Detroit, MI

Jason the 300lb. Cowboy

Drew Walker WUSN-FM Chicago, IL

Edwards & Lee WYCD-FM Detroit, MI

Trish Biondo WUSN-FM Chicago, IL

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET

Chris Carr, Maverick & Statt WUBE-FM Cincinnati, OH

Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt & Kevin Freeman WFMS-FM Indianapolis, IN

Lisa McKay WQDR-FM Raleigh, NC

Q Morning Crew – Mike Wheless, Marty Young & WQDR-FM Raleigh, NC

Janie Carothers

Randy Carroll and Jamie Martin KAJA-FM San Antonio, TX

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET

Cash and Carey KWEN-FM Tulsa, OK

Jack Ryan WMYL-FM Knoxville, TN

Party Marty Mitchell WKMK-FM Monmouth-Ocean, NJ

Rowdy Yates, Sunny Leigh & Carly Rush KVOO-FM Tulsa, OK

Tom and Becky WBBS-FM Syracuse, NY

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET

Brent Lane WYCT-FM Pensacola, FL

Dex and Mo WUSY-FM Chattanooga, TN

Gator Harrison, Styckman & Cowboy Kyle WUSY-FM Chattanooga, TN

Jamie Mac KCLR-FM Columbia, MO

Philip Gibbons WGSQ-FM Cookeville, TN

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET

KNIX-FM Phoenix, AZ

KUPL-FM Portland, OR

WDSY-FM Pittsburgh, PA

WQYK-FM St. Petersburg, FL

WYCD-FM Detroit, MI

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET

KAJA-FM San Antonio, TX

WFMS-FM Indianapolis, IN

WLHK-FM Indianapolis, IN

WSM-AM Nashville, TN

WUBE-FM Cincinnati, OH

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET

KUZZ-AM/FM Bakersfield, CA

WBBS-FM Syracuse, NY

WGNA-FM Schenectady, NY

WKMK-FM Monmouth-Ocean, NJ

WMYL-FM Knoxville, TN

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET

KCLR-FM Columbia, MO

WXFL-FM Florence, AL

WYCT-FM Pensacola, FL

IMPORTANT NOTE: Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Eric Church received two nominations in the Song of the Year category—one each as artist and composer—because that category recognizes both.

In addition, the Song of the Year category recognizes the artist, composer and publishing company as a nominee but does not recognize an individual as owner or partial owner of the publishing company.

Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal